To the editor:

My story is simple.

Both my husband and I experienced an idyllic childhood growing up in Lawrence and attending our public schools. After college, we moved away with the naïve belief that there were many other cities that offered the rich and unique character of Lawrence. We returned to Lawrence eight years ago so our children could experience the same quality public education and childhood we did.

This includes a “walking life” which was an integral part of our upbringing. We can easily walk to our children’s schools, locally owned stores and vibrant downtown for dinner and a scoop of ice cream without ever getting in the car.

Closing our well-run, tight-knit neighborhood schools to fix a short-term funding problem will have devastating and long-lasting consequences for all of Lawrence. This would include dissuading families from moving here to live, work or start a business. I ask that we support only the proposed solutions to our budget crisis which do not include closing neighborhood schools.